December 15, 2009

No-Sew Fleece: Color Block Scarf!

In my neck of the woods, winter has arrived, which means it's time to break out the cozy scarves and hats! When it comes to keeping warm, there's nothing quite like fleece. And when it comes to whipping up some quick gifts, well if I were you I'd run out and buy a ton of fleece right now, since I'm going to devote the whole coming week to projects with fleece, most of them no-sew! How lucky are you?

While you can certainly buy fleece by the yard, and there's a mouth-watering selection of amazing patterns at store like JoAnnes (which I saw on a recent trip to the US) my source of fleece is from fleece blankets, which I can find for as little as 10 shekels (about $3) for a 130cm x 60cm size, much cheaper than buying yardage! While I love the patterned fleece, the solid colors look much more elegant and luxurious, and are a safer bet as far as gifts are concerned.

You'll Need:

fleece in 2 colors

good scissors

masking tape

a tape measure or ruler

How To:

Note: The total length of the scarf shown here is 123cm (50"), enough for a child to wrap around twice, but adult length is generally around 165cm (66"). The width I used is also wider than most scarf widths, but it looks nice with this style to have a bit more width, as the scarf looks particularly great folded over width wise. Measure the length and width of an existing scarf that you love and use that measurement!

Cut rectangles of fleece, mine measured 31cm x 37cm.(12.5"x 15") For this scarf I used two blue rectangles and two lavender rectangles, for an adult size add on panels according to desired length.

Place a strip of masking tape across each block 8cm ( 3.25") from the bottom, do this on both ends of block.

Using a pen or pencil and a ruler, mark even intervals of roughly 2 cm (3/4") across width of tape.

Using the guides you've marked on the tape, cut fringe on each side of block, stopping at the edge of the tape. (One can certainly eyeball this part, but the results will not be nearly as neat, it's worth the few extra minutes to measure!)

Now for the fun part, place one blue square next to one lavender square and simply tie the fringe together with double knots, making sure to tie the knot in the same way each time. How easy is that?

Join all the squares and you're done. Amazing right?

While this scarf looks decidedly feminine, a male version might use darker colors and have longer rectangles, namely fewer tied spots and thus a bit less "frill". Stay tuned this week and next, for a few more scarf ideas, a hat or two and much more. Stay warm and have fun whipping up some last minute gifts that everyone will be crazy about!

Comments

No-Sew Fleece: Color Block Scarf!

In my neck of the woods, winter has arrived, which means it's time to break out the cozy scarves and hats! When it comes to keeping warm, there's nothing quite like fleece. And when it comes to whipping up some quick gifts, well if I were you I'd run out and buy a ton of fleece right now, since I'm going to devote the whole coming week to projects with fleece, most of them no-sew! How lucky are you?

While you can certainly buy fleece by the yard, and there's a mouth-watering selection of amazing patterns at store like JoAnnes (which I saw on a recent trip to the US) my source of fleece is from fleece blankets, which I can find for as little as 10 shekels (about $3) for a 130cm x 60cm size, much cheaper than buying yardage! While I love the patterned fleece, the solid colors look much more elegant and luxurious, and are a safer bet as far as gifts are concerned.

You'll Need:

fleece in 2 colors

good scissors

masking tape

a tape measure or ruler

How To:

Note: The total length of the scarf shown here is 123cm (50"), enough for a child to wrap around twice, but adult length is generally around 165cm (66"). The width I used is also wider than most scarf widths, but it looks nice with this style to have a bit more width, as the scarf looks particularly great folded over width wise. Measure the length and width of an existing scarf that you love and use that measurement!

Cut rectangles of fleece, mine measured 31cm x 37cm.(12.5"x 15") For this scarf I used two blue rectangles and two lavender rectangles, for an adult size add on panels according to desired length.

Place a strip of masking tape across each block 8cm ( 3.25") from the bottom, do this on both ends of block.

Using a pen or pencil and a ruler, mark even intervals of roughly 2 cm (3/4") across width of tape.

Using the guides you've marked on the tape, cut fringe on each side of block, stopping at the edge of the tape. (One can certainly eyeball this part, but the results will not be nearly as neat, it's worth the few extra minutes to measure!)

Now for the fun part, place one blue square next to one lavender square and simply tie the fringe together with double knots, making sure to tie the knot in the same way each time. How easy is that?

Join all the squares and you're done. Amazing right?

While this scarf looks decidedly feminine, a male version might use darker colors and have longer rectangles, namely fewer tied spots and thus a bit less "frill". Stay tuned this week and next, for a few more scarf ideas, a hat or two and much more. Stay warm and have fun whipping up some last minute gifts that everyone will be crazy about!